


Happily Never After

by Shi_Toyu



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awesome Natasha Romanov, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Break Up, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, College, F/M, Howard Stark Tries, Howard Stark's Good Parenting, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, MIT Era, Maria Stark's A+ Parenting, Maria Stark's Good Parenting, Multi, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Steve, Protective Steve Rogers, Self-Sacrifice, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-27 02:26:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20752799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shi_Toyu/pseuds/Shi_Toyu
Summary: Steve, Bucky, and Natasha are partners in life as well as in thier successful business of breaking up the relationships of others. Want to leave someone but aren't good at confrontation? They've got you covered. Want proof the asshole you're dating is cheating when you accuse him and tell him you're leaving? Not a problem. Need to convince an overly atttached partner that you really, really won't work out in a relationship? Been there, done that. These three have encountered just about any situation thinkable. It doesn't at all prepare them for when Maria Stark shows up at their office, wanting them to break up her son and his fiance.Mostly because Tony Stark is too adorable for words and all too easy to fall for.





	Happily Never After

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've been sitting on this as a completed work for close to two months now and only just getting around to posting it. XD Oops. For moonandstarsandcolors over on Tumblr, who posted this incredible idea! Also, special thanks to [ Lunatical ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunatical/pseuds/Lunatical) and [ betheflame ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame) for being my betas on this piece!

Natasha had come to expect a few things from their clients. She, Steve, and Bucky had been doing this for long enough that she could usually figure out exactly how a job was going to go within just a few minutes of meeting whoever had walked through their door. She could tell who was going to lie to them to make themselves look better, who was going to cry, and who was going to make things more complicated than they needed to be. The woman sitting in their reception area, though, looked like no one Natasha had seen in their establishment before.

Older individuals weren’t entirely common, but they’d had a few. It wasn’t that. The woman had an air of elegance about her, though, and not one that looked to be put on for show. Her back was straight, chin held high and hands folded prettily in her lap as she perched on her seat and surveyed their lobby. The string of pearls around her neck looked real, and the few rings decorating her fingers had rather sizable stones. Between the jewelry and her designer label clothing, it was obvious she came from wealth.

“Maria Stark?”

The woman stood smoothly with a smile as she approached Natasha, one finely manicured hand already extended for a handshake. Her grip was firm, but not overbearingly so.

“Yes, that’s me. Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice.”

“Not at all. Please, come right this way.”

She led the woman deeper into the central office and to the conference room where the others waited. Natasha gestured to them as she entered and held the door for their client.

“These are Steve and Bucky, my colleagues, and I’m Natasha.”

“A pleasure to meet you all,” Maria said as she shook hands and took her seat.

“Likewise,” Steve said. “We spoke on the phone. It sounded like the job you have for us is quite urgent.”

“If this is an abuse situation,” Natasha said as she took her own seat, keeping her voice gentle, “we encourage you to go to the police. We’re professionals when it comes to breakups, but a crime like that should be reported if you’re trying to escape a dangerous situation. There are certain things we can’t insert ourselves in the middle of, you understand.”

Officially, at least. It wasn’t like any of them would be able to just walk away from someone in need, especially not Steve.

“Oh! No, it’s nothing like that,” the woman promised. “I didn’t mean to give off such an impression.”

“We just like to cover all the bases up front,” Steve assured her with a kind smile. He was always best at putting people at ease. “You didn’t give me much to go on when we spoke, just that you couldn’t give details over the phone. Is there any particular reason you’re looking to break things off with your husband?”

The woman laughed.

“I really have given the wrong impression, haven’t I?” she asked. “I’m not here for _me._ I’m here for my son, Anthony.”

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out a photograph and slid it across the table towards them. There were two young men in the photo, arms thrown around each other and grinning at the camera, but Maria tapped one red lacquered nail toward the brunet. He was the smaller of the two, with tousled, chocolatey hair that curled around his ears. His grin seemed to light up his entire face, his eyes big and bright. His skin was lightly tanned and unblemished, and it looked like he was attempting to grow in some facial hair. He looked _young_, mid-twenties at the latest, and was probably a college student, judging by the MIT t-shirt he wore.

“Who’s the blond?” Bucky asked, picking up the photo to get a closer look.

Here, Maria’s expression turned stormy.

“That’s Tiberius Stone, Anthony’s fiancé. The wedding is next month, and I’ll triple your usual rate if you can stop it from happening. I will not have that _leech_ dragging my baby down.”

.

Anthony had been handsome in his photograph, but it hadn’t prepared Bucky in the _slightest_ for seeing him in person. He was just… adorable, with grease smeared across the bridge of his button nose as he blinked nonplussed at the two of them.

“A bodyguard?” he asked his mother. “I’ve been living away from home for years. Why would I need a bodyguard now?”

Maria just tittered, running her fingers through his hair to rearrange it into some semblance of tidiness and rubbing the grease from his nose with her thumb.

“There have been some threats sent into Stark Industries, bambino. _Nothing_ to worry about,” she reassured, when the young man’s expression pinched with concern. “This is just a precaution. It would make your father and I feel so much better. Please, darling?”

She looked so imploring, with an undercurrent of motherly worry, that it had _Bucky_ feeling the need to call his mother just to tell her he loved her. Anthony never stood a chance.

“Yeah, okay,” he gave in. “But keep me posted on the threats?”

She pressed a kiss to his forehead, leaving a red print of her lips behind that did absolutely nothing to decrease his sheer adorableness. Bucky was nearly having heart palpitations trying to resist the urge to wrap Anthony up in a blanket and keep him safe forever.

“Of course, bambino. I’m sure it’ll be taken care of quickly.”

Then she bid them both goodbye and left.

“So, Bucky, right?” Anthony finally greeted him, smiling broadly. “I suppose we’ll be getting to know each other pretty well over the next however long it’s going to be. I’ll try not to drive you too far up the wall.”

“I’m sure that won’t be a problem. It’s nice to meet you, Anthony.”

He screwed up his nose in a show of disgust.

“Yeah, okay, no. First things first, call me Tony.”

Bucky laughed.

“I think I can manage that.”

They were in _so much trouble_. Bucky couldn’t wait to text Steve and Natasha about this new development.

.

Steve’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out to see that Bucky had sent another picture message, this time of Tony draped over his desk, fast asleep with his cheek pillowed by the keyboard. Coffee mugs and notes were scattered all across the desk and someone, presumably Bucky, had draped a blanket over his shoulders. The picture was accompanied by a message: _I didn’t have the heart to wake him. If he’s still asleep in 20 minutes, I guess I’ll be carrying him to bed._

Steve hadn't had the opportunity to meet Tony yet, but Bucky was constantly talking about him in their group chat with Natasha. The genius sounded amazing, honestly. He was sweet and funny and kind – and _adorable_, according to the pictures Bucky sent. Watching Bucky talk about him when they were all home in the evenings was pretty great, too. His whole face would soften as he recounted whatever it was that Tony had done that day. Natasha seemed to feel the same way, since she hadn’t been able to resist kissing the smile right from Bucky’s lips every time.

Though Steve and Bucky had known each other the longest, it hadn’t been the two of them who had gotten together first. Natasha had been there to help Bucky through some dark times when Steve hadn’t known how to help, and he’d been so grateful to her for that. He loved Bucky, would always love him, and he was so glad Bucky had found someone who could support him in that way. Steve had never expected anything more than their friendship and had loved other people in his life – people like Peggy. Even so, he’d nearly burst into tears when Natasha and Bucky had invited him to join their relationship about eight months later.

In the years since then, they’d tried bringing the occasional person into their triad, but no one had quite fit. The longest anyone had lasted was a few weeks. That was fine; they didn’t _need_ another person. They had never set out to try and find someone else. If the right person came along, though, they were game. From the way Bucky talked about him, Tony certainly seemed worth a shot. Of course, it would be entirely inappropriate for them to try anything while Tony’s mother was their client and breaking off his wedding might well drive a wedge between them that couldn’t be recovered from, but Steve knew Natasha was thinking the same thing he was. Anyone who could put a dopey smile like that on Bucky’s face already had points in their book.

Turning his attention back to the task at hand, Steve tucked his phone once more into his pocket. He reclined casually in a tufted sofa, drink on the low table in front of him, as his gaze swept across the lounge. According to the information Bucky had gathered from snippets of conversation with Tony, this was one of the establishments where Tony’s fiancé liked to spend his time. He had yet to show up, though, and it left Steve feeling antsy. Though Mrs. Stark seemed to have quite a low opinion of this Ty Stone, and Bucky didn’t have anything good to say about him either, Steve would prefer to get a read on him himself. Bucky hadn’t actually met him yet, after all, only heard things. Given Bucky’s developing feelings for Tony, it was no surprise he’d lean more toward buying into Stone’s negative reputation – not that Steve necessarily thought that reputation wasn’t earned.

His thoughts and musings were interrupted by his phone going off, this time with an incoming call. Steve pulled it out of his pocket again with a frown. Natasha and Bucky were both more likely to text, and he rarely got calls outside of clients. The number displayed on the screen wasn’t one he recognized, either. He hesitated only a moment before answering and holding the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Is this Steve Rogers?” a man asked, tone brusque and no-nonsense.

Steve’s frown deepened. Perhaps it was someone a previous client had recommended them to, calling to get some more information or inquire about hiring them. Most of those usually rang the office phone, but a client handing over one of their cell phone numbers wasn’t completely unheard of.

“Speaking. May I ask who this is?”

“This is Howard Stark. You and your associates were recently retained in the service of my wife.”

Ah. Tony’s father, then. Mrs. Stark hadn’t mentioned him except in passing. Steve hadn’t been sure he was even aware of his wife’s plan.

“Is there something I can do for you?”

“It’s been a week. I understand that one of your associates has been placed at my son’s side. What updates do you have for me?”

Steve couldn’t say he appreciated the man’s tone, but it wasn’t the rudest a client had ever been. Best to just get the interaction over with and move on with doing his job.

“Yes, Bucky is staying at Tony’s side and will be running interference on any interactions between him and Stone. Natasha has also inserted herself into the wedding planner’s team, though we hope not to have to use that position to ruin the wedding itself. We’d like to have this wrapped up before then.”

“As would I. Every moment my son spends with that callous bastard is a moment too long. Maria assures me you and your team are the best, so I expect this to be resolved quickly.”

“That’s certainly the goal, sir.”

“Good. You have my number. Call if you need anything.”

“Will do.”

There was a pause in which Steve thought the man was going to hang up, but then he spoke again.

“Tony has always been special,” he said haltingly, as if the words didn’t come naturally to him, “and I haven’t always been there for him the way I should have. He deserves so much better than Tiberius Stone. Whatever you have to do to stop this wedding, you have the full support of Stark Industries behind you.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“See that you do.”

And then the call disconnected. Steve sighed, lowering the phone. Family relationships were always complicated, especially when it came to fathers. Steve had only ever known his own through the stories his mother had told him before she passed. Bucky had a great relationship with both his parents, but Natasha wouldn’t even talk about hers. It seemed to Steve that while Mr. Stark did care about his son, he wasn’t the type of person who showed affection easily. At least he was trying, in his own way. Steve couldn’t help but wonder how Tony felt about that.

The door to the lounge swung open, admitting a small cluster of young men. At the center was a tall, tanned blond that Steve recognized from the photo Mrs. Stark had provided them with. Tiberius Stone had finally made his appearance.

Showtime.

.

Generally, when someone involved in their jobs needed to be ‘caught’ cheating, Natasha or Bucky acted as the lure – depending on the individual’s preferences, of course. That wasn’t a problem with Stone. It hadn’t taken Steve more than two hours after spotting the man for him to pick someone up in the lounge and take them to a nearby hotel. They didn’t even wait until they were behind closed doors to get things started, so it was easy for Steve to get photographic evidence. Nothing soured upcoming nuptials like a good, old fashioned bout of cheating.

Natasha wasn’t so sure she liked the idea of all three of them being present when they presented the evidence to Tony – it could all too easily make him feel trapped and even more vulnerable than finding out his fiancé was cheating on him already would. Bucky wanted them both there, though. He wanted to come clean about their roles in this, at least somewhat.

“Private investigators?”

Bucky nodded from where he sat across the kitchen table from Tony, Steve beside him. Natasha watched over them from her place leaning against the wall. She couldn’t help but notice that the pictures Bucky had sent didn’t do Tony justice. His eyes were wide and open, displaying every emotion, and his nose all scrunched up in confusion was just adorable.

“Your parents have had some… reservations about your relationship,” Steve took over the conversation. “They asked us to look into your fiancé and see what we could find. They were concerned.”

Tony’s expression turned pained.

“And I assumed you found something, or else you wouldn’t be here.”

He dropped his gaze to his hands, placed atop the table, and Bucky reached across the space between him and Tony to cover them with his own.

“We have,” he said quietly, gently. Bucky didn’t do gentle so well anymore, not like he had in the stories Steve told about them growing up together. These days, he guarded that gentleness, only showing it to those he was closest to. It spoke volumes that he was showing it here. “I’m sorry, Tony. Stone is cheating on you.”

Almost reluctantly, he nodded for Steve to slide the small stack of pictures across the table. Tony didn’t even look at them.

“I know,” he said instead, shocking all of them.

“What?”

Here, Tony finally looked up, and Natasha’s heart _ached_ for the determined expression he wore to try and cover up the pain underneath.

“I know,” he repeated. “I know Ty is cheating on me. He has been since we first got together.”

Natasha’s heart sank, already seeing where this was going.

“Then why do you stay with him?” Bucky demanded, shooting to his feet. “Why would you agree to _marry_ someone like that?”

He was upset, almost personally offended on Tony’s behalf. He didn’t understand, and Natasha stepped forward to run a hand up his spine, providing silent comfort. The coming blow wouldn’t be easy to take.

“Ty’s father is Tyler Stone.”

“The Secretary of Defense? What does that have to do with anything?”

Tony sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging and suddenly looking far older than his twenty-four years.

“Stark Industries gets most of its profits from defense contracts. We’re talking _billions_ of dollars in arms, vehicles, armor and software. Who do you think has to do the final sign-off on those? If the Secretary were to blacklist the company, it’d be a disaster.”

“And, what? You think he’s going to take it out on your dad if you break up with his son?”

Tony’s expression twisted into a bitter thing, an expression that didn’t look right on his face. It had no home there, Natasha thought.

“Secretary Stone wishes to provide his son with the illusion of _respectability_,” he sneered the word, chin lifted proudly. “Being settled down, even if it’s a farce, will provide that.”

“Why in the world would you agree to something like that?” Steve asked, gobsmacked.

“When you live a life in the public eye, especially in the business world, your life is never really your own. Trust me, I learned that early on. While I appreciate your concern, this is just something I’m going to have to live with. My dad may not like to talk about the details of the company with me, but Uncle Obie is much more forthcoming. I know where things stand, and I know what I need to do.”

Then he stood from the table and walked away.

.

“Why do you want to know about Obadiah?” Maria asked, giving Bucky an odd look.

“Tony mentioned him, is all.”

They had decided not to tell the Starks about Tiberius’s cheating just yet, nor the arrangement Tony had agreed to. It would be better to gather what information they could first.

“He’s Howard’s business partner,” Maria answered as she misted the rose bush before her. “They’ve been working together for… decades, since before Howard and I married at least. Howard brought him on so he could spend more time inventing and less time meeting with prospective clients.” She smiled fondly. “My Howard may be a showman, but he has little patience for the tedious details of building relationships with people.”

Bucky hummed in acknowledgement, misting his own rose bush. If he was going to be asking questions, he might as well make himself useful.

“Tony called him his uncle?”

“Well, Obadiah never had any children of his own and he’s always doted on Tony, encouraging his various projects and adding his inventions to the Stark Industries product line. I always tease him about trying to get in the good graces of the next Stark in line for the throne.”

She laughed good-naturedly.

“Tony will be the next one to take over Stark Industries, then? Not Stane?”

“Stane owns a decent portion of the company, but Howard has always retained the controlling interest. When he retires, that will pass on to Tony. I don’t know who Obadiah plans to leave his shares to, maybe Tony, too. If so, some of them will have to be sold off, but that’s perfectly doable. Tony really is the perfect choice for leading the company, though. He has his father’s gift for inventing _and_ a mind for business. He may hire a COO, but I don’t think he plans on having another partner after Obadiah retires.”

So, Tony wouldn’t need Stane once he took control of the company. Interesting.

.

“Mr. Stane?” Natasha called as she knocked on the office door and peered inside. “Your nine o’clock just arrived. A receptionist will show them to the conference room as soon as you’re ready.”

The man behind the desk, large and balding, gave her a once-over that was two parts attraction and one part suspicion.

“Who are you? Where’s Celia?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Sir,” Natasha apologized demurely, dropping her gaze meekly. “I’m Natalie Rushman. Your usual personal assistant called in sick today. HR sent me up to cover the position.”

A glance up through her lashes revealed the suspicion melting away, leaving only the attraction behind. He stood from behind the desk, straightening his tie.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Rushman. You’ll hold down the fort until I’m through with my meeting, won’t you?”

“Of course, Sir.”

And use the time to see what she could dig up.

.

The office was quiet, which wasn’t exactly uncommon between jobs. Usually, there was an air of peace and triumph about the silence, but not this time. Their job may have been a success, Tony’s wedding stopped, but it had come at a great price. They’d already accepted that breaking Tony up with his fiancé might spell an end to any desire he might have to be in a relationship with them, but it was a completely different thing to have busted his semi-adopted uncle for black market weapons trading. They had, of course, turned over all the information Natasha had found in Stane’s office to Tony’s parents – who had been shocked and betrayed in their own right – but there wasn’t much hope that Tony would want to see them again and be reminded of the whole mess.

Bucky was downright moping, and Steve couldn’t say he was much better off. Natasha was glaring at her computer screen as she went through her emails, but Steve didn’t think any of them were getting much work done today. Steve kept catching himself just staring off into nothing. They would get over it, of course – Tony hadn’t even been _theirs_ – but they still felt the loss.

A knock on the front office door startled them. Steve’s brow furrowed.

“Did we have a client meeting scheduled for today?”

“No…” Bucky said, hauling himself off the break couch where he’d been sprawled and heading to answer the door.

He pulled it open, probably intending to give whoever was on the other side a not-so-friendly greeting, and immediately froze.

“Tony?”

Steve and Natasha were on their feet in an instant, crowding the door. Sure enough, Tony stood on the other side, dark bags under red-rimmed eyes and holding himself awkwardly, but there was a small smile stretched across his lips.

“Uh, hey. Could I come in?”

“Of course,” Natasha told him, and they all three moved aside to let him enter the office.

He looked around curiously as he stepped inside, and it occurred to Steve that this was the first time he’d been here.

“Nice place,” he complimented, sounding distracted. “I have to say, you guys do a pretty good job of uncovering secrets for a trio of not-really private investigators. Or bodyguards.”

Steve winced.

“We didn’t mean to lie to you,” Bucky started. “Well, we did, obviously, but not…”

He wisely trailed off instead of digging himself an even deeper hole.

“Private investigating is surprisingly close to our actual profession,” Natasha took over. That was good. She’d always been the best of them when it came to words. “There’s a lot of overlap, and we actually do all have private investigator licenses. They let us do a lot more than we would be able to otherwise. The lies were necessary, as much as we didn’t like not telling you the truth, but we tried to keep as much of what we told you as real as we could.”

Tony frowned at her.

“Why?”

Steve was surprised he didn’t know.

“Your mother hired us,” he explained. “She was concerned about Stone and wanted us to stop the we-“

“No,” Tony cut him off. “Why did you not like lying to me? Why would that matter?”

Something in the way he asked it betrayed that there was more to the question than just idle curiosity. Steve’s breath hitched.

“Because we like you, doll,” Bucky answered, voice soft and eyes warm. “Hell, you had me head over heels by the end of the first day. The minute I met you, I knew we were in trouble.”

The light red flush that bled across Tony’s cheeks was utterly adorable, and Steve felt something clench in his chest.

“Yeah?”

There was something hopeful in the words, and Steve couldn’t help the smile that crept across his lips.

“Yeah, sweetheart. Bucky kept sending up pictures and coming home every night to talk about you. We never stood a chance.”

Tony’s eyes were wide with wonder.

“This may not be the most appropriate timing,” Natasha picked up the thread of the conversation, gaze both sultry and tender, “but we’d love to take you out some time, show you how you should really be treated. No lies involved.”

Tony’s lips twitched upward at the corners.

“Well, how could a guy say no to that?”


End file.
